Archiving AVCHD files

Hey there,
For those using AVCHD cams I was wondering if someone could share their experiences with archiving their footage.
The way I've done it over the last couple of months is to hook up my Panasonic HMC-151E to the mac and copy over the entire project directory ('PRIVATE') to a folder appropriately dated into my external hard-drive, and then log and transfer in FCP to start working on the edit.
Thus far, to back-up I have just been copying these PRIVATE folders over to another external-drive, along with the rest of the project data.
I was wondering if it is wrong to just copy over these, I did a test with the back-up files and it couldn't locate the original files when I opened up the project on my other mac. I realised my mistake in that I hadn't copied over the actual files that FCP creates in log and transfer, I had just been copying the raw data from the camera to the back-up drive.
I've not tried it yet so if anyone who has could let me know, if you log and transfer these back-up raw files in a FCP project, will it all reconnect OK? I'm still very much a beginner in this process so am wanting to make sure my work is backed up correctly. This has just dawned on me of late, if need be I guess I just copy over the files FCP creates in log and transfer to the back-up drive - it's just that these files are massive so if the way I'm doing it is fine then I'll just stick to that...
Also, if anyone has any advice or pointers on organising the clips I would appreciate that - I tend to import everything and then rename them all when in FCP and organise into sub-folders to work on. When I look into the capture scratch there are a lot of duplicate Clip numbers, so I fear FCP will get confused if I tried to re-connect the media if something went wrong with the original project.
Again, I'm fairly new to all of this, so any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

is there a reason for creating a disk image, rather than just copying the folder?
As Wally pointed out, it creates a fully intact copy with the underlying directory structure unchanged.
Once you have made the Disk Image, it is a closed archive that cannot be modified -when you mount the Image you can still access it's content, just not modify it directly, similar to a CD or DVD.
An open set of folders, even if they do have the correct directory structure when you first create it, can still be re-arranged, have items added or deleted etc. This leaves the possibility of rendering your archive unusable, particularly if you are unaware what, if any changes have been made. (My daughter is old enough to know by now that she shouldn't go tinkering in her dad's video stuff. But this is a recent development).
Disk Utility also gives you the possibilty to make Images that can be modified, but that's not the kind you should be making in this case anyway.

Similar Messages

Archiving AVCHD files using my G5 powerpc

If I buy the canon vixia hf11 will I at least be able to archive the AVCHD files using my G5 powerpc?
thanks for the help,
--Frank

Frankm6 wrote:
Yes, I just want to backup the files so that I can erase the cards and save the files for when I can buy an intel mac to edit.
What is the standard recommendation on backing up flash drive video?
The important thing to know about backing up AVCHD files for later use with FCE is that you must back up the entire AVCHD directory structure. Do not back up just the MTS files as FCE will not be able to ingest them for editing later.
Simply dragging the "AVCHD" folder from the flash drive to your backup disk will do what you want. Another nice way to do it is to run the Disk Utility program, click on the card in the list on the left side, and then click on "New Image". This will give you an image of the whole flash card.

Back up AVCHD files

Hello everybody,
Trying to archive AVCHD files without logging and transferring. I've found that when I log and transfer, the resulting files are massive. That's fine when I'm working on a project.
However. Ideally. I'd like to archive all video shot, to DVD. Then. When I wish to start a new project, mount the DVD I wish to get video from, then log and transfer for editing.
I tried a test 2 days ago: Transfer AVCHD folder from SD Card, to external hard drive. Then I "dragged" the folder into "log and transfer" window. Worked like a charm.
Tried tonight and no go!!???
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Hi there,
OK, after hearing that everything on the card is part of the AVCHD wrapper, and then reading the same in Tom Wolsky's excellent book, I tried the following and it works every time.
1. Mount camera as normal
2. Create a new folder on your media drive and name it something meaningful.
3. Open the No Name volume your camera mounts as and copy all the contents therein to the new folder.
This new folder can then be added to the Log & Transfer window and the media imported at any time.
To archive this copy the files to a DVD±R and burn.
I have a Panny SD9 and this works for that so should work for you too.

Can you edit AVCHD files for length & keep them AVCHD?

I shoot video on a Canon Vixia HF10 camcorder that records in AVCHD. I usually import these files into an event in FCPX and create optimized media when doing so. Then, when I archive the project, I delete the optimized files and just keep the AVCHD files (which makes the project archive much, much smaller).
I shot some video the other day but forgot to stop the recording at the end of about 30 minutes of footage. This resulted in the camera recording until it filled the 32 GB card. And I was shooting from 4 angles with 4 different cameras, so I got more than 100 GB of useless footage.
I'd like to trim the AVCHD files themselves so that I can get rid of the 3 1/2 hours of footage I shot by mistake, and make the AVCHD files much smaller. Can I do that? How would I do that?
The only thing I can think of is to import the entire files into FCPX, transcode them into optimized video, then trim the resulting ProRes 422 .mov files down in a timeline, and export them. But then I think that I'd lose some quality in the process (of trimming, exporting, and reimporting them), and I'd be archiving .mov files (which I don't want to do because they are so large).
I'd appreciate any advice.

first, AVCHD is no video 'format', but mainly a file and folder structure standard. Within that, wrapped as 'mts', you'll find h264 encoded video. which leads to ....
second, h264 is no lossless format. even plain cuts makes a re-encoding neccessary, which 'multiplies' compression errors/loss.
imho, you have two options:
• import wisely FCPX allows to select on AVCHD import - no need to 'swallow' the fulll 16Gs of a card, if you need just 10min here and 20sec there, import these parts. … but even 'parts' are probably bigger in file size than original recordings.-
• if you dig deeper into your AVCHD files (cmd-click/Show Package Content), you'll notice, a single 1h recording is chopped into many mts files. you could identify the 'empty' ones, erase them, and give the free tool AVCCAM Restorer a chance to re-enact a standard compliant AVCHD-structure (=erasing some mts inside an AVCHD 'axes' the whole thing!).
Try with a test recording! Test with a copy! This is a workaround! .... no guarantee, it works.

Adobe Premier Elements 12 - Exporting trimmed AVCHD files from the project timeline, to a separate folder for burning to Blu Ray disc with other software?

Hi, can anyone help please. This is the first time I have used this forum.
I use Premier Elements 12, a PC, 64 Bit, Windows 7, high powered computer.
Just started trimming AVCHD in this software.
I would like to know if it is possible to export trimmed AVCHD files to a folder elsewhere (files which were originally imported into the project timeline), so that I can burn the trimmed AVCHD files (not in 'Project' form) to Blu Ray disc (using another software which I know that works to burn video files to Blu Ray disc).

Kathy
Thanks for the update. Your progress sounds very good.
Premiere Elements 11, 12, and 13 are similar. But, version 13 has significant feature removals and a new Elements Organizer.
So, when viewing or reading tutorials, try to determine the version of the program being used for the tutorials. As I typically write
principles tend to remain the same from version to version, but the features tend to move, change, or be discontinued from version
to version. And, it is frustrating to be armed with principles when you cannot find a feature.
Some Comprehensive Free Resources for version 12.....
http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-premiere-elements-12/
http://help.adobe.com/archive/en/premiere-elements/12/premiere-elements_reference.pdf
http://help.adobe.com/archive/en/elements-organizer/12/elements-organizer_reference.pdf
ATR Premiere Elements Troubleshooting: Premiere Elements 12 First Look Details
ATR Premiere Elements Troubleshooting: Premiere Elements 12 Daily Discoveries
Please do not hesitate to ask if questions or need clarification.
Best wishes
ATR

Does this support AVCHD files straight from the camera (Panasonic)??

Does the new final cut pro X support AVCHD files from the camera? I record with a Panasonic AG-HMC40.
Thank you

FCPX doesn't import AVCHD files from my Panasonic GH-2, even though importing works perfectly into iMovie. So just because camera X imports natively into iMovie, it isn't certain it will import natively into FCPX.
iMovie archives will always import because the AVCHD has already been converted to ProRes on import.
In FCPX the AVCHD files from say a GH-2 can be edited natively if you don't want to re-render into ProRes, but to date I can't import them to test this.
Chris.

Recommendation for storing/archiving AVCHD material

I'm sure this isn't a new question but after a bit of searching I still wasn't able to find it on this forum.
I have one of the newish Sony consumer cameras with flash memory. I use Log and Transfer in FCE to import the footage and that's all good. However I have noticed that when I use the Sony software that came with the camera to import the footage (Windows only) the files end up being a lot smaller. Unfortunately I can't use these files with FCE and there are plenty of posts on this forum detailing why not.
My question is: what is the "best practice" method for storing/archiving AVCHD footage? If I keep the .MOV files that FCE creates then I will be storing 4 or 5 times as much data as the .MTS (and related files) created by the Sony software supplied with the camera. So should I be importing the footage twice - once into FCE and once in Windows - and archiving the smaller (Windows/Sony) files? If I do this then how can I get FCE to recognise them if I ever need the source files again - do I have to transfer them back to the camera or use a third party product to convert them? What do others do?

I back up the entire original AVCHD folder off the camera onto another hard drive. Store and maintain like an iTunes library of MP3 files. You can rename the top-level AVCHD folder as long as all the subfolders remain intact. Those files are about 1/10th the size of the ingested footage and a lot more manageable. In fact, I never actually log and transfer from the camera itself. Just copy the files to backup immediately, then mount whatever folder applies. I also keep a final uncompressed QuickTime movie of each "finished" project. Eventually, I toss the ingested footage for older projects. This means it would be somewhat difficult to go back and rebuild an older project, but I'm personally more of a "done and next project" person. Others might not be. AVCHD footage takes up no more disk space than than HDV once it's imported. It all gets converted to the much larger Apple Intermediate Codec for editing. Your decision is essentially whether you want to back up tapes or back up electronic files of your original media, and how long you want to keep the bloated AIC media on your drive for continual tweaking down the road. Either way, you'll likely want a couple large hard drives.

AVCHD files only partially importing to imovie11.

I have a panasonic V720 camcorder and imovie11 and am trying to import AVCHD files into imovie. Most of the clips have imported successfully but a selected group seem to require the camcorder to be conected for them to play. When the camcorder is unplugged the clips do not play and simply display "Missing Camera" rather than the video. when scrolled over the clip present a message which says "the media for this clip is still on the camera. to begin importing select "reimport from camera/archive..." from the file menu. There is nothing in the file menu which gives this option other than the import option which does display the clips to be imported, but when I select import all the window closes immediately and nothing has changed. I made a trailer from these clip and they all worked fine, but when I try to use them in a movie they will not play.
Any suggestions would be really great as I would really like to get this movie finished before February.

The choice is yours.
You can use them natively or convert to ProRes.
Some people claim that ProRes will give better quality if you intend to do lots of colour correcting but you probably won't notice much difference.

I have a avchd file approx 15min in lenght on a sdhc card. My camera says there is one file. When I put the card in the PC ( Win8.1), the PC says there are 2 files,

I have a avchd file approx 15min in length on a sdhc card. My camera says there is one file. When I put the card in the PC ( Win8.1), the PC says there are 2 files, one is 11mins approx and the other is 4mins long approx. If I bring these files into premier CS6 they are both identical length of 15mins What is going on here??

Hi and thanks... kinda getting there but still unsure WTF. I have found that the files are split at 197gb (consistent with other uses on the web), however when I import them into premier cs6 they are 15mins and 29secs, on the SDHC card the file size is 197gbfor the larger, then the shorter one is 634mb. BUT when I import both files into premier cs6 they are identical size and length both are 15.29.19 or 15mins 29sec and 19frames. I have put the card in the camera and run that as an external and it sees the files as 2 split files while if I view the files straight off the camera there is only 1 file. Why it says there are 2 files of different sizes and premier imports them as 2 identical files is a mystery to me! I have also gone back and looked at some archived footage on another card and yes there was one split file when the size exceeded 197gb but of course when I imported that footage nothing was missing because cs6 imported the file as a complete 'take' of the whole length

AVCHD Viewer? Is there a way to view "raw" AVCHD files?

I have Sony HDR-SR5 camcorder that records in AVCHD format. I import most of my AVCHD files into iMovie 08, but I also archive the "raw" AVCHD files (so that when I buy a Blu-Ray burner I can make high-def movies). My AVCHD files are stored as disk images that I usually label something like "5-28-08 Video.dmg" After a few years, when I go back to re-import the AVCHD file from the disk image, I'll probably forget what's on that specific image. Is there a viewer I can download to view the raw AVCHD files in the disk image? Part of the reason I import the AVCHD files into iMovie is for organization (I love the "events").
I store my stuff using this technique:
*File Management and Archiving with AVCHD*
http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=10705633&messageID=7118597
Thanks,
Otto

Yes, but your camcorder is dedicated to doing one thing and one thing only, like a calculator. It was specifically designed for this task... and to read just the AVCHD files it creates. I imagine it won't read any other cameras AVCHD files. Unlike a viewer which must work with a majority of files.
Consider this: Panasonic has a AVC Intra codec that is only available on cameras running over $50,000 because the hardware is so specific and difficult to cool. Sure, in a few years this will trickle down into sub $20,000 units (I hope!), but the point is there is a LOT of engineering of both the software and the hardware to make it happen.
Or to look at it another way, about 4-years and one computer ago, we had an associate taking RAW image files and using Adobe Bridge to view them. On the internal hard drive caching a folder of 1,000 RAW files would take over one-hour. Now simply moving them to an eternal drive took caching down to about 20-minutes... but now you want to do this with HIGHLY compressed video files in the newest of codecs... there is a LOT of math going on here.
Mike

Why is so hard for FCE or iMovie to read AVCHD files?

I have some AVCHD files (.MTS) on a hard disk. No camera. And no, the directory format has not been preserved. The files were just copied, and renamed for backup purposes. "Log and Transfer..." in FCE gives me an error about the directory structure. And I can't import with iMovie (just won't let me select the files.)
Now, I think I would have a better chance of finding a solution, if I knew why Final Cut Express 4 or iMovie 7.1.1 can only read the AVCHD file format from the camera directly, or when the directories are setup in a particular way.
Why can't it just read the file? Like how any program can read a JPEG without having to plug-in a camera or create a folder called "PRIVATE" or whatever?
I've wasted several hours on this problem today, and the the only conclusion i can come up with is that Apple has some seriously incompetent or just plain lazy engineers.
There must be a proper technical reason... right?

Hi -
Jason Moore3 wrote:
It's just so weird that all FCE and iMovie can read the files - they just require you to "connect the camera". Why is the camera so important to reading the file?
It's not. It's just an easy way to insure that when FCE or iMovie are looking at the file storage directory, FCE or iMovie will see all the files, the metadata, the media, etc.. It also makes for an easier work flow- just plug in the camera, no need to off-load files and remember where the are stored, etc.. And, it helps develop a workflow where people are not just copying the media files to another disk without the metadata, as in your case, or make a mistake and copy the metadata without the media.
Imagine this: three big tractor trailers pull up outside your house loaded with stuff. As you go out to meet them a driver hands you a small package. You open it up, and inside is a complete description of what is packed, how each item is packed, where each item is in the container, and how best to unpack the containers for the easiest installation in your house. That is what the metadata does. Could you unpack the containers without it? Yes. Is it the optimal way? No.
Many threads discuss how it's possible to backup the whole directory and making a disk image and then "tricking" iMovie/FCE into reading the files, which leads me to think that this stupidity is intentional.
This is not a trick. iMovie has the "Archive All" button on the import window. To later access those files you would use the menu File > Import > Camera Archive. In FCE, where one would expect a slightly more computer savvy user, you can use Disk Utility to create a disk image of the contents of the camcorder files, then later, use Log and Transfer from within FCE to import the footage from that disk image.
Someone doesn't want people to actually have a HD video format that is easy to work with (OMG pirates!!) and so it's been crippled to make it a PITA to work with.
Hmmm, well, all you have to do is follow the recommended workflow - connect the camera, import the footage, and edit. FCE and iMovie take care of the footage conversion from AVCHD which is a format incredibly difficult to edit in to a format that allows easy editing, all without user intervention.
The end result is, I can't view my own content.
The system Apple developed of converting AVCHD to either AIC or Pro Res is probably the best way to make the editing process as painless as possible for the end user.
Having said that, Sony Vegas, a windows application, will natively edit AVCHD files, without any conversion. I don't have any experience with it so can't say what the experience is like, but it might be an alternative for you if the iMovie/FCE workflow is not working for you.
Hope this helps.
Message was edited by: Meg The Dog to fix typo

Backed up avchd files to another drive, can I...

Hi
I've backed up my Panny GH2's avchd files to another drive, different from the drive used for editing where they also are.
To use those files, FCPX imports them wrapped in a QT 'sheath' and produces files about the same size, right. I take it that is not an alias of some kind and it doesn't need the original file any more.
So can I now remove those original avchd files to give me more room on the drive since they are backed up elsewhere and FCPX has a file good for editing of a similar size?
Hopefully this is not too confusing.
best,
elmer

I don't quite get what you mean. When importing in FCPX, you click on the folder and it shows the clips, there's never a choice about importing folder structure that I can see.
And the pop-up window for importing shows 'copy' checked and grayed out so I don't have a choice. I believe that's about how it was in earlier versions of FCPX. I also tested with a small vid file, just moved it actually to another place in the drive which should have broken the connection. No problem with the file in fcpx.
Thanks again!
When You have avchd foorage from a camera, it has a specific folder structure. Some people copy the files from a camera card using the finder and do no copy the e tire folder structure. You ard right that this structure is not apparent shen importing inFCP X.
It is clear that you have it as FCP X makes copy the media over. Thiz is correct behavior when importing from a camera, camera card or camera archive. That's fine.

AVCHD files on hard drive

How do I import AVCHD files, .mt2s, from my hard drive into Final Cut Pro 7?
I appreciate your help with this question.

Ultimately, what I would like to know is how to archive the tapeless avchd files because unlike my hdv tapes, I'll have to put them on hard drives and same the video files, and have to be able to recover the footage back FCP at some time in the future. < </div>
This is a problem everyone who goes tapeless eventually faces. It means you must cherry pick your clips (AFTER you've finished your production) to reduce the disk space, and then you must create backup copies of the trimmed files to external drives, servers, or other storage media. Multiple copies are better. But having the copies is only the first part of the problem. Now you have to create a cataloging or file taxonomy structure that makes the files usefully available later.
bogiesan

Avchd files directly to iPad

I travel with a sony a35 camera and would like to transfer avchd files directly to the iPad.

I went crazy too after I bought iMac specifically for editing HD video... These are my suggestions:
- Import movies directly from a camera or archive. When you have SD card full, copy all contents to hard drive to make an archive.
- Convert existing .mts files to something recognizable to iMovie
If you do upper mentioned points, iMovie will edit your movies. If your camera shoots in interlaced format, you will loose the vertical resolution (= your videos will not be smooth). I hate this. So my finals solutions are 2:
1. Install Ubuntu in Parallels or Virtualbox and use Kdenlive software. Great software...
2. Install Windows in Parallels or Virtualbox and use Sony Vegas.
Both solutions will edit .mts directly in interlaced format and you can export to anything. I like to export to
fullHD interlaced format and then to SD quality (for DVD), still in interlaced format. This makes great results.
I hope it helps. I needed half a year to figure everything out.

Archiving TXT files in Sender File Adapter--Unformatted Way

Hello,
I am Archiving TXT files thru Sender file adapter, files are getting archived to specified directory.No issues in that.,
When i open the archived files, those are not in the correct format way that i placed before file pickup.
Header & lines got messed up side by side.
Regards

Hi,
If the file that it being archived is not transformed, it should exactly be the same as the original file.
Please make sure that you are not transforming the archive file by any means(unix script, mapping logics etc).
As suggested above, it is advisable to open the file in the editors like textpad, ultraedit etc. The difference in the alignment could be because of the notepad editor.
Try to open the original and archived files in any of those(textpad,ultraedit etc) editors and check.
Please let us know if you are still able to find the difference in the alignment.
Regards,
Subbu

Archiving AVCHD files

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